By 2050, the world’s population will be almost 10 billion people. To feed everyone, farms must produce greater crop yields with fewer resources and less environmental impact. To meet these challenges, farmers are increasingly embracing technology and data science, working with companies like John Deere to become more efficient and sustainable. This has given rise to a wave of “precision agriculture.”

Listen to how the pioneering company is helping farmers do more with less, while improving their profitability.

While farmers have specialized in the art of prediction for millennia—The Old Farmer’s Almanac, which forecasts weather and other conditions is just one example—new developments in data science, location intelligence technology, and other areas have given rise to the “precision agriculture” wave.

“I believe that farmers today must be technologists,” says Dr. Angela Bowman, research scientist at John Deere. Bowman and her team use satellite, weather, soil, and other data to pinpoint what crops need at any given time, allowing them to adapt their use of resources, chemicals, and other remedies. By using these resources and chemicals only where and when necessary, farmers can save money, conserve soil, limit environmental impact, improve crop yields, and enhance profitability while increasing future food security.